After entering the twelfth lunar month, Ye's mother had already looked at all the auspicious days of the month in advance, wrote them down, and told them that the country people like to wait for an auspicious day to do anything.
There are dates on the sixth and ninth days of the month, so we decided to go to say farewell to the New Year on the sixth day tomorrow.
Even when they do spring cleaning during the Chinese New Year, they have to choose a good day to clean the house and yard.
When Aqing went to the market yesterday, he had already prepared everything in advance and had also reserved a pig's trotter from the fat man's father-in-law, but plans cannot keep up with changes.
In the morning, they found that the sea was calm and there was a faint red light on the horizon.
It has been windy for more than ten days, but I didn't expect it to clear up today.
Several neighbors next door also said that if there were no wind or waves at night, they would go out to sea and cast their nets to try.
Ye Yaodong was also thinking about it. It was so cold and he didn't know when the wind would start.
At night, he would either cast a net to see what was happening, or continue to cast a net if there was any catch. If there wasn't much, he would still have time to cast a sticky net.
This is the sticky net. If I put it down today, I have to leave it for a day and collect it early tomorrow morning. It takes a lot of time, and I don’t know if there will be good weather tomorrow. It’s more convenient to drag the net.
As for not being able to say goodbye to the New Year tomorrow, that’s not a big problem. There are still three days left, and the ninth day will also be a good day to go out. If you really don’t have time, there are also days on the sixteenth day.
Anyway, it’s not the first year, so it doesn’t matter if it’s a little late. His father-in-law and mother-in-law will definitely say that making money is more important.
Lin Xiuqing also thought so. "If the weather is good in the future, I can go back alone to celebrate the New Year. I can go early and come back late, and let my eldest sister-in-law and second sister-in-law take care of the child."
"Take a look first. Don't be in a hurry. Return the pig's feet later and buy them in two days. I'll go and cast a net at night. If there are any good ones, I can also take some fresh ones with me."
She nodded with a smile.
"I'm going out for a walk."
At this time, several brothers from Zhou Jialan's family next door also came over and asked him if he wanted to collect more dried fish. If so, they would go out to sea tonight and come back to dry them.
Of course Ye Yaodong wanted it. The dried fish he had on hand was only enough for one more delivery. If he didn't go out to sea again, he would go to the city to buy several thousand kilograms of dried fish after delivering the New Year's gifts to his father-in-law, and then transport several truckloads back to dry them. Otherwise, he would be breaking his promise.
They were also unsure, after all, they hadn't been out to sea for ten days, and they didn't know whether he still wanted to go, so they had to ask in advance.
Only after getting a positive answer did they feel relieved.
Ye Yaodong also told Lin Xiuqing that if anyone came to ask, he should give a positive reply. He planned to go outside the dock and check the boat.
I haven't been out to sea for many days. If I go out to sea at night, I must prepare in advance. It is easy to get into trouble if I prepare at the last minute.
There were not many people outside the dock at this time. The dock would only be crowded with people when ships were out to sea.
However, not long after he came out, a few people also came out to watch the tide and determine what time was appropriate to go out at night.
After Ye Yaodong checked that the boat was fine, he planned to go back ashore, but he saw several women coming out with baskets.
They were walking and chatting, and from what he heard they were talking he realized that they were going to take advantage of the low tide to dig some moss from the rock wall outside the corner to make soup.
It is the green hair growing on the stone wall, which is also called sea green locally. The sea water these days is still very clean and has not been polluted. The moss growing on it is still very green and clean, and it is edible seaweed.
Seaweed has a long growth period, from winter to early summer, but it usually grows in the sea in winter and grows less on the rocks near the shore.
This is not a rare thing, and few people are willing to wade into the cold sea to pick it. At most, when you see it on the shore, you can just pick a few handfuls and take them home to cook egg soup, dumpling soup, or make a cold dish.
It is still tender in winter and spring, but after May 1st, it becomes older and no one in the local area wants to eat it.
Looking at the women who walked to the rocks on the shore to catch ospreys, he thought about it and realized that it was almost noon, so he might as well go and catch a few and bring back some egg osprey soup.
Living by the sea, he eats whatever is available. Lately he's been eating carrot soup and potato and pickle soup every day, and he's getting tired of it.
People who have never seen seaweed probably can't imagine what it looks like. It is more similar to seaweed, but smaller than seaweed, like a hair, but green.
Ye Yaodong saw that there seemed to be quite a lot of food growing on the rocks. No wonder some people came to pick them. These women really knew what was edible on the beach.
Otherwise, it was too short in the past. In such cold weather, no one would come out to pick these in the sea breeze.
He pulled several handfuls with force and stopped only after there was a ball in his palm.
It’s good enough to eat. It’s not a rare thing. A small handful can make a large bowl of soup.
People who have never eaten it may not like it. This cassowary has a fishy smell, not the smell of fish, but the smell of grass. People in the local area are used to eating it.
In the past, when there was nothing to eat, how could we choose? It was good enough to have something to eat.
Ye Yaodong hasn't eaten it for many years and misses the taste a little.
Many things are often not very delicious, but when you see them occasionally, you miss them very much, because what you are eating is a memory and a feeling, such as maltose.
The women nearby saw him picking osmanthus fish and started whispering to each other about his recent move to collect dried fish in the village and his shop.
Ye Yaodong pretended not to hear anything and ignored it all, going straight ashore and going home. Anyway, he knew that he was already a celebrity in the village.
Lin Xiuqing was cooking when she saw him go to the dock and bring back a handful of cassowaries. She asked hurriedly, "Did you fish it out? I've already cooked carrot soup. What are you going to do with this cassowary?"
"It's carrot soup again. Let's cook it in the evening. Make some sea gull and egg soup."
"We eat radishes in winter and ginger in summer. All we grow in the fields are radishes. If we don't eat radish soup, what soup should we eat?"
"Okay, let's try something different tonight. When I came back just now, I saw a few old ladies picking this, so I picked a bunch of it as well. Do you want me to pick a basket and bring it back to your parents in a couple of days?"
Lin Xiuqing said with a smile: "Why take it back? It's not like you haven't eaten before. You have to bring everything back to your mother's house. You'll be laughed at."
"What a joke! I'm thinking they've never eaten this seaweed from our beach."
"I couldn't get used to it. I couldn't get used to it at first either. It smelled like grass."
"Fine."
"Have you filled up the boat with fuel?"
"No, I just checked it and bought another bucket to take with me when I got on the ship at night."
"oh."
She stir-fried the dried dragon head fish in the pot a few more times before putting it out. "How about a handful of fried eggs? You can cook this ball twice."
"That's fine, you can do it yourself."
Ye Yaodong took the plate from her hand, not afraid of the heat, and reached out to steal a piece of dried dragon head fish.
"Isn't it dirty to eat without washing hands right after work?"
"It's OK as long as they are cleaner than their two sons. Their sleeves are covered with either hard snot or dirt."
"You are an adult and they are children. How dare you compare yourself with them?"
"Yeah, nice of you."
"Ahh..." Ye Xiaoxi stood in the standing cage nearby, watching his father stealing food. He also grabbed the bamboo slips above him and stood up shakily, screaming and drooling.
Ye Yaodong looked at him with amusement, "Why are you so greedy?"
The old lady was blowing on a bowl of steamed eggs in her hand, and she smiled and said, "I didn't even have time to eat it. She started crying as soon as it came out of the pot."
"Put some cold water in a large bowl and put the egg custard in it so it will cool faster."
"I'm just afraid that it will be cold after eating it. Just blow on it and it will be fine."
“Ahh~”
"Dad, you call me dad~"
“Ah~ Ah~ Oh~”
She had been standing for too long, and maybe her legs and feet were out of strength, so Ye Xiaoxi just sat down again with a plop, making an "ah" sound, which was so adorable.
Ye Yaodong's father's heart was melted and his face was full of smiles.
"My daughter is still the cutest!"
"Well, I don't care if my son quarrels or fights, but my daughter is cute no matter how I look at her." Lin Xiuqing turned her head and joked.
"Well, that's how it is. Boys don't need to worry about it."